the school yearbook shows where he put his energy. >> romney at cranbrook was a belonger. he wasn't a good athlete, but he was the manager of the hockey team, he was on the cross- country team, he was a cheerleader. he was very active in everything he could be. he was part of the place very deeply. >> narrator: during that time, mitt's dad decided to leave business and head into politics. michigan was a powerful democratic stronghold, but george romney had a maverick streak. he ran as a liberal-to-moderate republican. and mitt watched as he won. >> michigan can light the authentic path to a fuller and higher expression of freedom in america. thank you very much. (crowd cheers) >> it's a little bit striking how involved he is in george's political activities from a fairly young age. >> narrator: his dad thought civil rights were worth fighting for. as a teenager, mitt was less interested in the issues than being with his dad. >> the word from his family is that he was not necessarily interested in politics as ideology. but there was always something about his father and his